Tag: spinning

For the past 3 years I have gone to our little local fiber festival — Fiber Train. Apparently, it has only been going on for that long, which I had no idea about. I thought it started the year before I went! Anywho, I digress.

Fiber Train, every year I have gone, has been on the small side. The first year I went, I didn’t spin, and only walked away with stitch markers. The second year, I walked away with a fleece… which I still haven’t done anything with (oops?). This year, however, I spent around $200, and could have easily spent more!

The festival still wasn’t very big, but it was bigger than last year. I am hopeful as the years go on, it will continue to grow, and that we will draw more vendors. Though, I spent the bulk of my money at Greenwood Fiberworks. Carolyn is just a treat to talk to, she is very sweet, and a very happy person. I wish I would have been able to sit with her longer! You can see her in the photo below spinning on her Hansen miniSpinner! Love her two-tone!

I purchased a total of four braids from her. I got two Peacock, one in the camel silk (I can’t wait to spin this!) and one in 100% silk. I’ve never spun silk before, so it should be interesting! I also purchased two Sherwood Forest in the 50/50 merino/silk base.

That camel/silk, let me tell you… I want to make a bed of it, it is so soft and luxurious! It’s like a cloud! If I wasn’t trying to not spend all of the money in the world, I’d of bought many more braids of it. It is just divine. Let’s hope it spins up easily for me!

Also, from Carolyn’s booth, I purchased the cutest little drop spindle. It’s by Greensleeves, and it’s called a teacup! It’s spotted tamarind and walnut, and spins a treat. I think this is my favorite spindle now. I also grabbed a couple of pigtails (half-ounceish sample braids) to play around with.

I also purchased an adorable little alpaca at the festival, that’s made from real alpaca. It’s super soft, and good for petting on. And cute!

I attended the festival on Sunday morning, so not everything was quite going yet. Peter the rainbow sheep was not present, even though I was told he would be there starting when the festival opened. I was a big disappointed about that. The blacksmith that always attends wasn’t quite going yet, but it was still interesting to watch him set up! And one of the booths hadn’t been set up at all by the time I left (about 11:30), so I’m not sure what the deal was there.

All-in-all, it’s a pretty good little fest. Especially considering that you have to drive like 6+ hours to get to any of the others in the area. It was lovely just to loiter and talk to some of the vendors, and other folks. Fiber people are always so nice, sweet, and helpful!

I’ve had my miniSpinner (mS for short!) for several months now, and I’ve gotten to use it some in that time (I’ll fully admit that I don’t spin anywhere near as much as I should), and I have to say, it is a completely wonderful little device!

I definitely spin better with it — I’m getting a bit thinner in my singles, which is what I want, and I am much more consistent. It’s also a complete treat to use — I don’t have to treadle, and with the Woolee Winder, I don’t have to fuss with hooks or sliders or anything like that. I can just lean back, and draft away!

I use my mS in “deadman mode”, where the pedal functions as an on/off switch. This takes some time to get used to, but I think I prefer it this way. It is an adjustment to get used to not having a variable speed, or having direct control over speed — you just have a knob to adjust it. You turn it on, and it whirs up, and spins away.

The mS has allowed me to get more spinning done that what I would have, otherwise. I can set it up on a hard book or a lap desk in bed and use it, since it’s such a small little thing, and I don’t have to sit it on the floor, or even sit mostly upright to use it. And since I don’t have to pay attention to hooks/sliders, I can watch TV and spin much easier, which also allows me to get more done.

I also love the huge bobbins that came with the Woolee Winder. They could easily fit 8oz. The Woolee Winder was a little expensive, and the bobbins are a little expensive, but totally worth it!

All-in-all, it’s a FANTASTIC little wheel. If anyone out there is considering one, and you don’t think you will have aversions to using electric, or not being able to treadle, get it! You wont regret it! Had I known these existed before I purchased my Ladybug, I would not have purchased it and bought the mS instead!

And for any folks looking for a lazy kate to pair with their Woolee Winder, I purchased an Ogle Kate. It’s small, compact, and will fit easily into any bag that will hold the miniSpinner.

As far as batteries go… If you plan to do any travel, or take it to guilds or spin ins, they are totally worth it too! I even use mine at home instead of using the power cable, since it allows me to easily move things around, and keeps me from tripping over the cable, or the dogs/cats from getting caught it in it, etc. You know how critters can be! I have an Ankler Astro Pro 2.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave a comment and ask. I’ll be happy to answer them as best I can.

So, I spun up 1.5oz of some pretty and awesome fiber to start on the Oddity mitts. I came out with 80yd, though it fluffed out a lot when I washed it. I’d say it is probably DK weight or so, but I haven’t checked it.

Here is what the fiber looked like! Though, my camera ate the color. It really isn’t neon green like it looks in the first few pictures. The last couple show the true colors the best! And now for some in-process shots!

The first little bit.

40 WPI!

The first full bobbin.

What it looked like pre-wash!

Post-wash! It really did fluff a lot!

And the start of my mitts. Unfortunately I had to frog the row after this because I suck and can’t read charts to save my life!